Cholo is an excellent remake of Commodore 64 game of the same name, originally released by Firebird. The plot: “[you] are Jared, a maintenance engineer who helps to look after the bunker where everyone has lived for several hundreds of years. You are also the champion of RAT, a game played on a terminal which has become a sport over the years. The computer has been watching, and now you are in isolation and discovering the real truth. You are the citizen’s last chance to find a way to take back control of the surface droids and open the bunker. If you fail you can still contribute to the survival of the organic computer.”

This remake brings the intriguing wireframe world of Cholo to life with SVGA graphics, and enhances the gameplay tenfold by giving you the ability to enter almost every building and adding many new hacks and programs. Despite these additions, the designers decided to keep the central theme the same: you view the world of Cholo through droids you control. You will spend hours exploring the immense city, hacking terminals and other robots in your quest to regain control of the city and open the cap on the bunker. Hacking robots is a lot of fun, although you have to be mindful of various “red herrings” that some robots give (sorting out the red herring from the real info is part of the fun).

If you love cyberpunk-themed action games, this is an excellent remake that brings one of the most underrated 8-bit classics to the 21st century. If you get stuck or if the game seems too daunting at first, there is a very well-written quick start guide on the official site, along with other useful information. Two thumbs up, way up!